Score Some Points With The Kids

Personalized Baseball Bats, In-line Skates Sure To Be A Hit Among Sports-minded

December 08, 1996|By Julie Hanna. Special to the Tribune.

Kids aren't really so hard to please when it comes to gifts, at least not when it comes to sports. They love to watch them, they love to play them. Even for babies--a keepsake gift such as a baseball mitt is always fun.

In the same vein, and good for bigger kids too: A genuine Louisville Slugger baseball bat inscribed with the child's name. The company has been making major-league bats since 1883 and a solid ash, officially stamped bat in junior (28 to 31 inches, $38) and adult lengths (32-35, $41) is available by telephone or mail order. Send check (price includes postage) to H and B Promotions, P.O. Box 35700, Louisville, Ky. 40232, Dept. TC, or call 502-585-5226, ext. 7238. Visa and Mastercard accepted.

Baseball-loving kids can get out to Comiskey Park next season as members of the White Sox fan club for only $15. They get tickets to several games, a newsletter and membership packet and other goodies. Call 312-451-5388.

A stocking stuffer that might not fit in the stocking but will fit a revered place on a bedroom wall is the popular "No Bull" poster of Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. It's $10 and available at many sporting goods and sports specialty merchandise stores.

Anything involving in-line skating continues to be a hot seller also. Kids outgrowing their skates? K2 is making the hottest skates on the market, especially with the 12- to 20-year-old set, says Wendi Chilson, manager of Chicago's City Sweats, an ultra-hip skate shop. K2's soft shell boots that fit like a tennis shoe with the stiff urethane boot for support have been the store's biggest seller the past two years. Kids are especially fond of K2's "Fatty," an "aggressive" skate for kids who like to grind on curbs and execute trick moves. The lower-cut skates and their little brother, the "Backyard" (coming out in time for the holidays), retail in the $250 range. If kids need somewhere to stash the skates when they get to school, try the Transpack's backpack ($40), a mesh apparatus that holds other stuff in the center with the skates on the side. The skates and backpack are available at area skate shops.

A bicycle used to be a big-status holiday haul. Although the majority of bicycles are nowadays bought in the spring--when new models come out--a holiday bike may still fit the bill for little tykes. Schwinn's Aerostar is a junior bike with a 20-inch frame in plain or chrome finish for $160 to $170. BMX-style bikes and freestyle bikes (for trick riding) are the trend for preteen boys. Schwinn and other makers have them in the $200 range.

One gift that can be used immediately despite the cold weather is darts. The Sports Authority district manager David Pace is recommending a new magnetic game where "the darts actually stick." Made by Winmor, it retails for about $45.

One apparel item expected to be popular this season is the official Warner Bros.--and NBA-sanctioned--Michael Jordan jersey featuring the cartoon characters from the movie "Space Jam." It will retail for around $50. Also, says The Sports Authority's Pace, anything with "the `N' word--Nike." Nike's black jackets simply adorned with the trademark swoosh are getting hotter by the minute and sell for approximately $100.